On Friday 19 January we were glad to welcome Sylvie Higgs, Account Manager at Sumitomo Electric Euro, who kindly delivered two masterclass talks for our Year 11 and Year 12 students. The masterclass consisted of a presentation of artefacts, including a Robot, transducers and a talk about electromagnetic waves and their application, such as an explanation of why radio waves are used for communication rather than visible light.
In addition, the talk also discussed the current and future use of AI in science, as well as the growing demand for photonics engineers, for which A level Physics and Maths are a necessity. This event greatly contributed to the enrichment of our students and was a very useful learning experience, particularly the information about electromagnetic waves, which aligns with the curriculum materials covered in lessons for Year 11.
During the masterclass, Sylvie kindly remarked on the low number of girls taking physics at A level, and therefore, going further onto studying a physics related degree at university, including Photonics and Engineering. We hope that this and future masterclasses, dedicated assemblies and workshops, after-school clubs, careers talks, hands-on projects, and many other STEM activities we organise in school, will get more students passionate about physics and science in general and encourage them to study it further.
Feedback from pupils were overwhelmingly positive. Below you can read some quotes from the students:
“I found the session very enjoyable because I was able to learn new things, which I didn’t know before. ” (Student, Year 11)
“The session was helpful and talked about the different jobs and opportunities available. It also highlighted how low the number of females who pursue engineering was, which I hope it will change in the future.” (Student Year 11)
